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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Oh wow.
Kind of stumbled over this book bc of a dream and I'm glad I did. Had no idea about the historical background, but very interesting and informative. Really good writing, was gasping with disbelief and crying tears of joy at the end.
Kind of stumbled over this book bc of a dream and I'm glad I did. Had no idea about the historical background, but very interesting and informative. Really good writing, was gasping with disbelief and crying tears of joy at the end.
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
These are the kind of history lessons that should be taught in school. This book was all about the unions with the copper mines out west and how they exploited workers and allowed unsafe conditions lead to worker deaths. I liked how the author used Shakespeare to show the divergence between the two sides and also how alike they were--neither wanted to budge on what they wanted, and in the end, everyone lost. This generated a lot of good discussion at book club which was fun as usual. I really like how diverse the reading selections have been. I do wish this book had more of the "after" but our timeline was confined to about a month after the end of the strike. I would like to have a goo epilogue about what happened because of the strike and when did the mines finally get safety regulations. What happened to that mean old grinch, MacNaughton? Or Annie? And while Eva was a made-up character, what happened to the other wives and storeowners? I felt like this book gave us so much information about this rather unknown event but not enough to fully understand the ramifications of it.
I'm a fan of this author and The Women of the Copper Country was no exception to her usual excellent work. Well researched but still an engaging story.
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I learned a lot in this historical fiction novel set in the early 1900’s, in Calumet, MI. It is a very detailed account that focuses mainly on the months when there is a heated strike at the copper mines where most of the town work. I liked the main characters a lot-all very strong, smart women who made a difference! There is a lot of drama and tragedy that I had no idea ever happened! For me, it was a little long and drawn out in the middle, but still a great book that I’m happy I read!
Hard to read at times, but worth the heartbreak to get a picture of the lives of the miners and the role of women in breaking the chains of drudgery, terror, and exploitation. I was especially interested in this after having visited Copper Country in the UP two years ago, bringing this story closer to home.
Shocking story of the copper mines in Calumet, Michigan in 1913. Men with money could run the whole county and have people who opposed them beat up or killed. The copper mine business built the town and owned the land on which the houses and stores were located. Housing was leased to the miners and families were thrown out when the miner was injured or killed. An arrogant bastard named McNaughton ran the mines in Calumet. Shop keepers, the local newspaper and law enforcement all were beholding to McNaughton and did as he told them. The story centers on Anna Klobachur Clements who lead the fight to start and union. They asked for 8 hour shifts, 5 days a week, adequate pay and some safety precautions. They struck for 10 months and ended up with no concessions. Sad ending.